LABOUR’S election supremos yesterday insisted Ed Miliband was heading for Downing Street in May and dismissed criticism of his leadership as “rubbish”.

Campaign strategist Douglas Alexander urged the Labour faithful to rally in the run-up to polling day and vowed: “We are going on and we are going on to victory.”

His bullish riposte came after a Monaco-based billionaire claimed the Labour leader would be a “catastrophe” for Britain.

Boots boss Stefano Pessina, worth £7.4billion and who lives in the Mediterranean tax haven, said Miliband’s plans were “not helpful for business, not helpful for the country and in the end it probably won’t be helpful for them”.

Furious Labour frontbencher Chuka Umunna hit back at Pessina’s intervention, saying: “The British people and British businesses will draw their own conclusions when those who don’t live here and don’t pay tax in this country purport to know what is in Britain’s best interests.”

Labour will be boosted by a poll out today showing women voters have put the NHS, living costs and family care pressures as their top concerns for the general election – traditional Labour strengths.

The party were rated the best at understanding family issues, with 20 per cent choosing them compared with 16 per cent for the Conservatives in the Radio 4 Women’s Hour survey.

Political leaders are desperate to win over female support as the polls show a third of women still unsure how they will vote in May.